AM radio done been bum-Rushed

Every day on A.M. radio, propaganda masquerades as fair and balanced news coverage. Thanks to media consolidation and savvy marketing, the republican party ultimately controls a growing portion of the public airwaves. Over 20 years ago, Rush Limbaugh wrote the blueprint for how to spin news, statistics, and listener phone calls into a powerful recruiting tool for the republican party. Today, A.M. radio is filled with Rush wanna-be’s and mini-me’s. Some would argue that government regulations are needed in order to reverse this trend, but I believe that non-conservatives need to find and promote their own Rush Limbaughs.

When Rush became a national figure back in the 1980’s, I thought that his radio/TV shows were a bad comedy routine. It was always the same old banter: republicans good, democrats evil, conservatives good, liberals evil, big business good, government evil, listen only to Rush or people with the same views, ignore or shout down everyone else. In Rush’s world: republicans and their patrons were paragons of virtue being victimized by some vast left wing conspiracy in media, government, courtrooms, universities, union halls, etc. Rush claimed that he was just an average “silent majority” guy who wanted to even the "liberal media" playing field.

Rush proceeded to redefine the media playing field. He made an art form out of cherry picking current/historical events, news stories, and callers in order to create story lines that would support his one-sided view of the world. He would pontificate for hours on end about how republicans/conservatives were always right, and democrats/liberals were always wrong. Callers were screened into two groups: right wing disciples who praised Rush and agreed with his every opinion, and left wing lunatics who were shouted down, ridiculed, and labeled as wackos/communists/America-haters/feminazis/etc.

At times Rush comes across as a socio-political shock jock who will say anything in order to spark controversy and increase ratings. But Rush is much more than a shock jock, he is a propaganda jock. What makes his schtick propaganda is that everything he says and does promotes one political party and its patrons, while demonizing and scapegoating "others." At times Rush’s rants sound like something out of a neo-nazi handbook, except that he scapegoats “liberals” instead of Jews. While I have many views which would be considered "conservative," I always found Rush to be an intellectually dishonest, disingenuous, and self-serving megalomaniac.

Although I have no respect for the method to Rush's madness, I must admit that he has become one of the most influential media personalities in America. I recently read that he owns 38 cars, so his schtick has obviously paid off handsomely. Millions of listeners appear to identify with Rush’s blind love of Ronald Reagan and 1950’s America, his blind faith in unfettered capitalism, and his blind rage against the types of people who made him feel insecure growing up. Judging from their phone calls, few of his listeners seem to expose themselves to opposing viewpoints.

Thanks to Rush Limbaugh's success, there are hundreds of A.M. radio talkshow hosts who utilize the same tactics and sing from the same hymnal. While they pretend to be the sole arbiters of truth, patriotism, and virtue, their shows mainly function to provide the republican party with free advertising and recruiting. As fellow republican Don King would say: “only in America.”